Toyota cans diesel for C-HR crossover

Toyota has decided not to sell its new C-HR crossover in a diesel engine in Europe, after two-thirds of its pre-orders were for the hybrid version. The 1.5-litre, three-cylinder diesel was due to be offered in the C-HR in Europe but the crossover will be sold only with petrol and hybrid powertrains when it goes on sale later this year, Automotive News Europe reports. “The development of this engine is continuing for global applications but its calibration for Europe has been put on standby,” Toyota CEO Didier Leroy says at the Paris Auto Show. The pre-orders show diesel is not in high demand, although customer orders could tell a different story, Leroy says. About 25 per cent of Toyota’s vehicle sales in Europe are diesel models, well below the 50 per cent of total market sale. Since Volkswagen Group's diesel emissions-rigging was exposed a year ago, the market share of diesels in the region has been declining. In August, diesel share fell to 48.3 per cent from 50.9 per cent in the same month last year, according to data from market researcher LMC Automotive. In Europe, Toyota offers its own 1.4-litre diesel engine on the Yaris subcompact and Auris compact models, a BMW 1.6-litre on the Verso compact minivan and Avensis midsize sedan, and a BMW 2.0-lite eon the Avensis and RAV4. Toyota diesels are also offered on larger vehicles such as the Land Cruiser large SUV and Hilux pickup. Toyota offers hybrid drivetrains with its Auris, Yaris and RAV4 models, along with diesel and petrol versions. Its Prius model has hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants.